Mahsa Amini Human rights and Security Accountability Act or the MAHSA Act
This bill requires the President to impose property- and visa-blocking sanctions on certain foreign persons (individuals and entities) affiliated with Iran.
The President must periodically make determinations about whether certain existing sanctions apply to specified foreign persons and impose the applicable sanctions, including determinations concerning (1) the Supreme Leader of Iran and any official in the Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran, (2) the President of Iran and any official in the Office of the President of Iran, and (3) any entity overseen by the Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran which is complicit in supporting human rights abuses or terrorism.
[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 589 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
118th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 589
To impose sanctions on the Supreme Leader of Iran and the President of
Iran and their respective offices for human rights abuses and support
for terrorism.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 27, 2023
Mr. Banks (for himself, Mr. Gallagher, Mr. Waltz, Ms. Tenney, Mr.
Wilson of South Carolina, Mr. Crenshaw, Ms. Salazar, Mr. Wittman, Mr.
Weber of Texas, Mr. Fallon, Mr. McClintock, Mr. Murphy, Mrs.
Harshbarger, Mrs. Rodgers of Washington, Mr. Guest, Mr. Lamborn, Mr.
Gottheimer, Mr. Swalwell, and Ms. Wasserman Schultz) introduced the
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs,
and in addition to the Committees on the Judiciary, Financial Services,
and Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined by the
Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To impose sanctions on the Supreme Leader of Iran and the President of
Iran and their respective offices for human rights abuses and support
for terrorism.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Mahsa Amini Human rights and
Security Accountability Act'' or the ``MAHSA Act''.
SEC. 2. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS ON IRAN'S SUPREME LEADER'S OFFICE, ITS
APPOINTEES, AND ANY AFFILIATED PERSONS.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) The Supreme Leader is an institution of the Islamic
Republic of Iran.
(2) The Supreme Leader holds ultimate authority over Iran's
judiciary and security apparatus, including the Ministry of
Intelligence and Security, law enforcement forces under the
Interior Ministry, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
(IRGC), and the Basij, a nationwide volunteer paramilitary
group subordinate to the IRGC, all of which have engaged in
human rights abuses in Iran. Additionally the IRGC, a United
States designated Foreign Terrorist Organization, which reports
to the Supreme Leader, continues to perpetrate terrorism around
the globe, including attempts to kill and kidnap American
citizens on United States soil.
(3) The Supreme Leader appoints the head of Iran's
judiciary. International observers continue to criticize the
lack of independence of Iran's judicial system and maintained
that trials disregarded international standards of fairness.
(4) The revolutionary courts, created by Iran's former
Supreme Leader Ruhollah Khomeini, within Iran's judiciary, are
chiefly responsible for hearing cases of political offenses,
operate in parallel to Iran's criminal justice system and
routinely hold grossly unfair trials without due process,
handing down predetermined verdicts and rubberstamping
executions for political purpose.
(5) The Iranian security and law enforcement forces engage
in serious human rights abuse at the behest of the Supreme
Leader.
(6) Iran's President, Ebrahim Raisi, sits at the helm of
the most sanctioned cabinet in Iranian history which includes
internationally sanctioned rights violators. Raisi has
supported the recent crackdown on protestors and is rights
violator himself, having served on a ``death commission'' in
1988 that led to the execution of several thousand political
prisoners in Iran. He most recently served as the head of
Iran's judiciary, a position appointed by Iran's current
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, and may likely be a potential
candidate to replace Khamenei as Iran's next Supreme Leader.
(7) On September 16th, 2022, 22-year-old woman, Mahsa
Amini, died in the detention of the Morality Police after being
beaten and detained for allegedly transgressing discriminatory
dress codes for women. This tragic incident triggered
widespread, pro-women's rights, pro-democracy protests across
all of Iran's 31 provinces, calling for the end to Iran's
theocratic regime.
(8) In the course of the protests, the Iranian security
forces' violent crackdown includes mass arrests, well
documented beating of protestors, throttling of the internet
and telecommunications services, and shooting protestors with
live ammunition. Five weeks into the protests, Iranian security
forces have reportedly killed hundreds of protestors and other
civilians, including women and children, and wounded many more.
(9) Iran's Supreme Leader is the leader of the ``Axis of
Resistance'', which is a network of Tehran's terror proxy and
partner militias material supported by the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps that targets the United States as
well as its allies and partners.
(b) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that--
(1) the United States shall stand with and support the
people of Iran in their demand for fundamental human rights;
and
(2) the United States shall continue to hold the Islamic
Republic of Iran, particularly the Supreme Leader and
President, accountable for abuses of human rights, corruption,
and export of terrorism.
(c) In General.--
(1) Determination required.--Not later than 90 days after
the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter,
the President shall determine whether the sanctions listed in
paragraph (2) apply with respect to each person and entity
described in subsection (d), and impose all applicable such
sanctions with respect to each such person and entity.
(2) Sanctions listed.--The sanctions listed in this
paragraph are the following:
(A) Sanctions described in section 105(c) of the
Comprehensive Iran Sanctions, Accountability, and
Divestment Act of 2010 (22 U.S.C. 8514(c)).
(B) Sanctions applicable with respect to a person
pursuant to Executive Order 13553 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note;
relating to blocking property of certain persons with
respect to serious human rights abuses by the
Government of Iran).
(C) Sanctions applicable with respect to a person
pursuant to Executive Order 13224 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note;
relating to blocking property and prohibiting
transactions with persons who commit, threaten to
commit, or support terrorism).
(D) Sanctions applicable with respect to a person
pursuant to Executive Order 13818 (relating to blocking
the property of persons involved in serious human
rights abuse or corruption).
(E) Sanctions applicable with respect to a person
pursuant to Executive Order 13876 (relating to imposing
sanctions with respect to Iran).
(F) Penalties and visa bans applicable with respect
to a person pursuant to section 7031(c) of the
Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related
Programs Appropriations Act, 2021.
(d) Persons Described.--The persons described in this subsection
are the following:
(1) The Supreme Leader of Iran and any official in the
Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran.
(2) The President of Iran and any official in the Office of
the President of Iran or the President's cabinet, including
cabinet ministers and executive vice presidents.
(3) Any entity, including foundations and economic
conglomerates, overseen by the Office of the Supreme Leader of
Iran which is complicit in financing or resourcing of human
rights abuses or support for terrorism.
(4) Any official of any entity owned or controlled by the
Supreme Leader of Iran or the Office of the Supreme Leader of
Iran.
(5) Any person determined by the Secretary of the Treasury,
in consultation with or at the recommendation of the Secretary
of State--
(A) to be a person appointed by the Supreme Leader
of Iran, the Office of the Supreme Leader of Iran, the
President of Iran, or the Office of the President of
Iran to a position as a state official of Iran, or as
the head of any entity located in Iran or any entity
located outside of Iran that is owned or controlled by
one or more entities in Iran;
(B) to have materially assisted, sponsored, or
provided financial, material, or technological support
for, or goods or services to or in support of any
person whose property and interests in property are
blocked pursuant to this section;
(C) to be owned or controlled by, or to have acted
or purported to act for or on behalf of, directly or
indirectly any person whose property and interests in
property are blocked pursuant to this section; or
(D) to be a member of the board of directors or a
senior executive officer of any person whose property
and interests in property are blocked pursuant to this
section.
(e) Congressional Oversight.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after receiving a
request from the chairman and ranking member of one of the
appropriate congressional committees with respect to whether a
person meets the criteria of a person described in subsection
(d)(5), the President shall--
(A) determine if the person meets such criteria;
and
(B) submit a classified or unclassified report to
such chairman and ranking member with respect to such
determination that includes a statement of whether or
not the President imposed or intends to impose
sanctions with respect to the person pursuant to this
section.
(2) Appropriate congressional committees defined.--In this
subsection, the term ``appropriate congressional committees''
means--
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House
of Representatives; and
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations of the
Senate.
<all>
Committee Consideration and Mark-up Session Held.
Ordered to be Reported in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by Voice Vote.
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Foreign Affairs. H. Rept. 118-118, Part I.
Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Foreign Affairs. H. Rept. 118-118, Part I.
Committee on the Judiciary discharged.
Committee on the Judiciary discharged.
Committee on Financial Services discharged.
Committee on Financial Services discharged.
Committee on Ways and Means discharged.
Committee on Ways and Means discharged.
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 90.
Mr. McCaul moved to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended.
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Considered under suspension of the rules. (consideration: CR H4242-4247)
DEBATE - The House proceeded with forty minutes of debate on H.R. 589.
At the conclusion of debate, the Yeas and Nays were demanded and ordered. Pursuant to the provisions of clause 8, rule XX, the Chair announced that further proceedings on the motion would be postponed.
Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H4257)
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 410 - 3 (Roll no. 384). (text: CR H4242-4243)
Roll Call #384 (House)On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by the Yeas and Nays: (2/3 required): 410 - 3 (Roll no. 384). (text: CR H4242-4243)
Roll Call #384 (House)Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Trade.